Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lobster Salad

I have been trying to challenge myself in the kitchen. I've been hoping to get away from flavors I'm familiar with while trying new skills and techniques. So I decided that I was going to make mayonnaise from scratch.

Making mayonnaise isn't an overly complicated process, it's just time consuming and when you decide to make it by hand with no electronics you better prepare yourself for some pain. You feel as if your arm is going to fall off at any moment. That being said, I'm so glad I did it. It was fairly easy all you need is an egg yolk and 3/4 of a cup of oil (I used extra virgin olive oil because I had it) AND lemon juice. The lemon juice is key. Not having any idea what I was doing I squeezed out a two lemons and reserved the juice. You will in no way EVER need that much juice for your mayo. The whole point of the lemon is to help "keep the emulsion from breaking." The acid from the lemon stabilizes the emulsion as you're whisking. So one to two drops as you feel you need it is perfect.

You can find instructions on how to make mayonnaise here: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/making-mayonnaise/detail.aspx

I decided to to a variation on the mayonnaise since I wanted to put it on lobster and mix in dill, cayenne pepper and ginger.

I then mixed the already cooked lobster meat into the mayonnaise and set it aside. For my salad I wanted a little crunch so I added some slivered bell peppers on baby arugula. For a dressing I mixed the remaining lemon juice with pepper and a little bit of garlic.

When eating the dish, I prefer mixing the two elements because I find the lemon to be a refreshing compliment to the dill and ginger in the mayonnaise. As well as the lobster's buttery flavor complimenting the slight bite of the baby arugula.

Optional: I've added roasted cashew's to similar salads the cashews really bring in a nice texture.